Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is already facing an impeachment vote and wavering support from President Donald Trump, but now the Democrat who’s about to take over the House Armed Services Committee is promising to dig into the Pentagon’s deadly boat strikes in the Caribbean.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) said Democrats will launch a serious investigation into the strike campaign, telling The New Republic's Greg Sargent that the strikes have killed well over 200 people, with little to no evidence released that the targets were drug smugglers.
“Yes, we are going to attempt to do that – absolutely,” Smith said.
He said the committee wants to “establish the justification for it" and plans to call in the officials who made decisions about the campaign.
“We’re going to want to bring in people who have made decisions around it, just like you described, and get some explanation,” Smith said. “But crucially, where is it going? What’s it trying to accomplish?”
Asked whether Democrats could cut off funding for the strikes, Smith answered with one word: “Yes.”
It would work like Democrats’ plan for the Iran war, he said – passing a measure saying no funds are authorized “for boat strikes in Latin America,” then fighting Trump’s veto. First, though, Democrats will try “the easy way" and ask the administration to drop policies that are “manifestly unpopular” while staying “prepared to use those stronger levers.”
Smith expects obstruction and warned that it’s “going to be an ugly fight between Congress and the executive branch for the next two years.”
The probe adds to Hegseth’s growing pile of problems. Smith put the odds that Trump dumps his defense secretary at “50-50,” largely because of the Iran war.
“Trump needs a fall guy, and we all know Trump’s not going to take personal responsibility for it,” Smith said. Making Hegseth the scapegoat would be “convenient, and deservedly so.”
Smith also said a motion from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to impeach Hegseth is ripe for a vote Wednesday. “By every estimation, it will pass,” he said.
Smith described low morale in the military under Hegseth, citing unexplained firings, “ridiculous” pep-rally gatherings of top brass, and Hegseth’s practice of personally crossing names off mid-level promotion lists. According to Smith, no defense secretary has ever done that before.
Hegseth isn’t the only official the committee is pressing. Smith said Democrats may also subpoena the Pentagon’s report on the U.S. bombing of a girls’ school in Iran, which has been withheld for nine months.
“The report should be released,” he said.